Your thoughts on Sennheiser Headphones!

Ouch! the HD800 are over $1500, the 600 is close to $400, not sure I'm ready to invest that much. I like my 280's so far.

 

I was basing my preference on a sound quality threshold within the Sennheiser line rather than picking headphones for various budgets. Just because I didn't say I was a fan doesn't mean they might not be good. Fan level has more commitment than just "good".

I do consider the HD600 to be competitive around the $400 price point. I would prefer that they were less expensive. But if you're willing to spend around $400 and listen to the right styles of music and have an amp that is suitable (a $99 Schiit Magni or $119 Schiit Vali will do it) then they should be in the top part of a list for consideration.

The HD800 is priced in crazy land. In cycling terms I'd consider it a category 1 price. Hors catégorie is reserved for some special contenders like the JPS Labs Abyss, Stax SR-009, and some others. The HD800 competes handily with others in the category 1 level, so in that sense it is worth the price it is priced at.

 

I understand. My only point was that I don't think the 280s are so bad that it's fair to call them "very harsh and distorted." They are decent enough headphones for their price point.

 

To each their own. I disagree since I found them so bad I would much rather listen to my PX100 or MX580, both of which are less than half the price.

For isolating headphones (which coincidentally are a similar price), I ended up getting etymotic HF5, which sound much better to me, but still not great on an absolute scale.

 

I thought the 580 was discontinued and replaced by the 600.

Take your 555, open each side up and remove the piece of foam on the inside of each grill. Now you've got a 595.

 

It's very easy to do; you won't lose the patient.

 

Many years ago I did that to my 580s, it was a nice improvement and very easy. I think it was on the recommendation of someone at Headroom.

 

They are good headphones at their price point. I wouldn't consider them harsh.

 

Have the hd 598 and I´m very pleased with them, I bought a shorter Oyaide cable to replace the stock one and that brought them up a little notch, a great headphone.

 

Love my 595's. Especially hooked up to my new OOPO HA-1.

 

Their portables sadly aren't much for longevity. I've had a PX 100 and an HD 238i, and they've both failed exactly the same way--one of the channels cuts out because the wire comes loose at the plug connection.

 

20+ years with a set of 580s. Love them.

 

I recently bought the top Momentum s to add to my 650s, 448s, px200. They're smoother in the upper mid / treble than the others and have a lovely balance. Comfy too.

 

I have had HD580s for a while. I use them with an X-Can V3/Pinkie Power Supply. To me, they have a warm signature that mixes nicely with a lot of CDs. I also have AKG K701s (and others) and I like the change of pace.

 

The Momentums are great headphones for the price. Those are my work headphones and leave the 650s at home for more critical use.

 

I have owned a set of HD600's for 9 years and a set of HD650's for 3 years. Best thing you can do for either one is replace the stock cables with better after market ones. Both of these headphones will scale up as you put better cables on them. The HD650's really like to have a better cable to wring out the performance they are capable of doing. The HD800's seem to have more of the Sennheiser house sound than the HD650's but are still a bit more detailed and refined sounding. Not that the HD600's or HD650's could be considered harsh sounding.

 

I've enjoyed my 580's for many years now... been through a few cable replacements (currently using the cable made for the HD650) and have removed the foam ear pieces. If these ever fail or, I just want to buy another pair, I'd probably look to the HD600's.

 

I have had a pair of the 580's for more than 10 years and they are still working great . Certainly have no complaints as they sound good to my ears. I also have pair of B&W P5's that are nice for listening on my laptop , and a pair of Phillips that I forgot the model number . The Senns are my favorite ones though.

 

I'm mostly a Sony guy when it comes to headphones, but I do quite like the Sennheisers that I've heard. Nice quality stuff.

 

A few years back my daughter wanted headphones, specifically Beats. I took her over to the former J&R Music World and had her compare Beats to a pair of S/H that cost about $100 less. She was stunned by the differences she heard. She left the store with a new pair of S/Hs and a deeper respect for her Dad's hobby and his listening skills.
Still using my '94 vintage Grado 60s, but I must admit the S/H on balance much more comfortable.

 

I did that on the 558s and ended up putting the foam back. I thought the high end after the surgery was too piercing/sharp for my tastes.

 

The Sennheiser HD-800 is an amazing headphone especially paired with the right headphone amplifier. The HD-800 is so neutral that it will tell you about the upstream components. I have found excellent synergy with the Sennheiser HDVD 800, Chord Hugo, and CEntrance Hi-Fi M8 LX XL4. It needs a neutral DAC and headphone amplifier to sound its best.

I also really liked the Sennheiser HD 650. I liked the 650 more than the 600 because it was a bit warmer especially in the deep bass. I found a great pairing with the HD 650 and the Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline HR-2. It had a rich, warm, and tube sound that was muscular with terrific PRAT. I'd recommend this combination to others at a lower price point.

The HD 600 were great headphones that were neutral, but they did have the famous Sennheiser veil that dampened the clarity and detail retrieval. The HD 650 had this veil too.

The most striking sonic performance about Sennheiser headphones is the tonal balance and the natural sound especially with the higher end headphones. I haven't found another pair of headphones that has this unique sound combination. The HD-800 has a natural tone that makes music sound like it is being played live. You pay for this privilege, but it's totally worth it.

 

It's my understanding that the 555/595 and 558/598 use different drivers.

 

Apparently the 558s and the 598s use the same drivers, etc. and the foam piece is the only difference. Remove the foam, voila, you've got a 598. I personally didn't like it.